Shape-Shifter

Mindwarp #5

by Chris Archer

In the fifth book of this middle grade sci-fi series, a teen abducted by aliens becomes a shape shifter, unrecognizable to everyone, even himself.
 
For nine months, Todd Aldridge was missing. Stories swirled about him throughout his hometown of Metier, Wisconsin. Was he kidnapped? Abducted by aliens? The kids at his junior high school were keen on the alien story. Metier is a UFO hotspot, after all. Until one day, Todd is found alive beside the town reservoir. Everyone wants to know where the thirteen-year-old has been. Only Todd doesn’t remember anything, except for the light that filled the sky moments before he disappeared . . .
 
Now Todd is beginning to wonder what happened. Especially when some of his classmates claim that he is an alien now—like them. Todd isn’t ready to believe them. Until he feels the power surging in his body and his shape beginning to shift. He morphs into a creature that he can only call otherworldly, a creature who will have to fight to survive the danger surrounding him . . .

Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery

108 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 1998

Reviews

[Joe Kessler · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun twist for this middle-grade 90s sci-fi series. For four books now, we've been hearing backstory about how Todd Aldridge mysteriously vanished on his thirteenth birthday, and watching as a succession of his classmates have both gained access to special powers and quickly had to fend off alien assassins as they turned that age themselves. For this fifth installment, the new protagonist turns out to be the missing boy himself: first for a few prequel chapters set before his disappearance, and then after he wakes up in the hospital nine months later, with no memory of where he's been for all that time.

Given the formula established in the previous volumes, it's natural to assume that this latest story will follow a familiar route, with the hero developing awesome abilities and fighting off an eerie shapeshifting foe (while also presumably getting to the bottom of his amnesia). Instead, the last quarter of the text reveals that that setup is ultimately a red herring, because the narrator we've been following is in fact one of the deadly predators himself, overlaid with the abducted kid's personality to be the perfect sleeper agent to lure in the others. It's a great plot beat, and one I don't mind spoiling for discussion purposes, since a) this novel came out 1998, and b) the title and the back of the book largely give it away already.

Once "Todd" solves the mystery of his blackouts -- those moments when his true self comes to the surface in murderous fashion -- the ending is a wild rush of his human identity battling back the treacherous impulses of his subconscious and shifting his physical form from situation to situation to try and save his friends from being captured by his ostensible allies. It's a funhouse mirror of the way these stories usually go, as he's still using a bizarre and recently-discovered skillset in order to solve the problem in front of him, but the change of pace is everything that Mindwarp needed to breathe new life into its basic premise.

[Content warning for body horror.]

Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6...
--Or click here to browse through all my reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog

[Aelvana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Todd Aldridge is enjoying the new camera he got for his birthday when he sees a bright light above the reservoir. The next thing he knows, nine months have vanished. His dog suddenly hates him. He'd be worried about what Ethan, Ashley, and Jack are telling him about expecting an alien aggressor, except he's starting to suspect the real trouble might be underneath his own skin.

Todd Aldridge. The mystery of what happened to him was touched briefly in previous books, but it's no less puzzling to Todd himself. What did happen to him that night out at the reservoir? Why does he start to panic whenever he gets close to something that might help him remember? And what power might he possess that woke on his thirteenth birthday?

The truth, when it is revealed, only deepens the mystery. Given the title, Todd's power wasn't as much of a surprise as it could've been, although the origin of it is certainly one of the more amusing highlights. I could wish Todd got more of a chance to explore his strange hometown and interact more with friends who no longer know quite what to do with him. Also, the aliens' time limits feel very arbitrary.

Overall, though, this book picks the series back up from the dull points in Second Sight. Todd's story has been hinted at for so long it's fun to finally see a little bit more of it, even if it does end up with more questions than answers. I rate this book Recommended.

[Rogue-van (the Bookman) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this is the fifth book in a series, it stands well on its own, except for the ending that leaves you wondering what will happen next. Todd's possibly alien encounter in this story results in his ability to change his shape, a power fun to contemplate. Chris Archer's good imagination gives Todd's mysterious struggle a unique slant. This whole series sounds like one that kids would like.